The Destiny Manifest

Graphite Web - Fantasy Fine Artwork!

David has launched an Etsy store - Graphite Web - for his artwork and it's getting a great response! He's encouraged and motivated -- and creating more than ever these days. I'm so proud of him! :)

Follow Graphite Web on Etsy, Facebook & Twitter!

Happy

I know, I know, I promise updates and then fail to follow through.Life has been busy, but happy.

My three favorite people in the world.

Welcome to the world Abigail Cora!

My second niece, Abigail Cora, was born a couple of days ago to my brother Colin and his wife Stephanie! She is a beautiful little sweetheart and we were so excited to meet her today!

It's always ourselves we find at the sea...

We were fortunate enough to win $100 on a $2 scratch-off lottery ticket this weekend so we drove to the beach for an impromptu mini vacation. We ended up at the Isle of Palms in Charleston, SC. We spent hours on the beach... we all had a blast and not having bathing suits didn't stop the girls for even a second.

Addah and Lakin enjoy a tide pool!

Long Overdue

It's been too long since I've had internet access... and I have missed it sorely. There have been a lot of changes in my life since July. I'm working on a catch-up post and will get it up in the next day or so.

30

Happy Birthday to me! I'm 30 today, which I suppose is kind of a big deal. I'm content to be 30. I've wanted to be be older than I am since I was about 13 and I finally feel like I'm the age I'm "supposed" to be. I know, sounds funny... but it's like, my outsides feel like they match my insides now. Something like that. In any case, I'm happy to be 30.

We had cake at my mama's house, then went up to Skytop Orchard in Hendersonville, NC to pick apples and pumpkins. It was a beautiful fall day, crisp and cool and perfect.

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween this year! We got all dressed up and went trick-or-treating with our friends Mandy & Jared & their kids, Avery, Riley & Mia. Andy came over and went with us, which the girls loved.

I was Little Red Riding Hood and David was my Big Bad Wolf. Aroo!

Lakin was a "Teenage Snow Fairy" (as she kept saying) and Addah was a scary Spider Queen. Andy was a Steampunk Time Traveler and probably had the most technical outfit of us all (most expensive too).

Mandy was a monk (which is pretty ironic, if you know her like I do) and Jared was a fairly disturbing rendition of a clown. Avery was a skeleton, Riley was a karate kid & little Mia was a witch.

Mandy ended up hurting her knee so she handed our candy at home while the rest of us made the neighborhood treat rounds. Lots of fun!

Coupled

So happy together...

Gone Fishin'

David & I decided to take the girls fishing today after school and we had so much fun! We drove out to Lake Robinson near Greer and David showed the girls how to bait a hook, cast and reel 'em in. Lakin is squeamish, so we had to hook her worms for her, but Addah had a grand ol' time piercing and playing with worms. I caught our only two fish of the day... two tiny breams, but still, I was proud. David caught our mystery "fish" -- we decided that it must be a long soaked plastic lure of some sort, because it really looked and felt like a giant sea slug. Ick.

Joshua Alva Kirkman

My oldest cousin Joshua Alva Kirkman died yesterday in Beijing, China. He was a writer and a business student, studying abroad. I had been out of touch with him for years and had just reconnected with him last year at my sister's wedding. I don't know the circumstances of his death yet... I don't know if his parents intend to have an autopsy done or not. He was only 32, only 2 years older than I am. I'm not entirely sure how I feel... incredibly sad, incredibly mortal.

His obituary can be seen in full here.